Staphylococcal Nasal Carriage in the Family.

The investigation was conducted between 1956 and 1959 in a small, single-handed general medical practice situated in a pleasant residential area in south Manchester. Thirty-seven families were investigated for periods ranging from 12 to 24 months. Anterior nasal swabs were taken from all members of each household every six weeks-a purely arbitrary interval-while any intercurrent staphylococcal lesion was recorded and usually swabbed. The selection of families was partly influenced by the expectation that they would co-operate throughout a rather long study. On the basis of the limited knowledge of staphylococcal epidemiology then available it was not suspected that any bias would be introduced in this way, and analysis of the data obtained has not contraverted this belief.